cise

At cise, bread is more than a side: it’s a dish to enjoy with wine. Visitors describe the bread kneaded with aonori seaweed as chewy, with a pronounced cheese flavour. Some have added an assorted bread platter, and the à la carte menu makes it tempting to build a meal around bread, one plate at a time. Options include a tartine topped with Chiba mackerel and cultured butter, and another with shiitake mushroom marmalade and mascarpone. One diner enjoyed the unexpected pairing of mackerel and butter; both tartines invite you to see how the toppings work with the bread.

There’s plenty to pair with the bread, from seafood to meat and pasta. Choose by the ingredients that catch your eye: shirako (fish milt) ponzu with buttered toast, sautéed oysters and chijimi spinach, or pasta with shirasu, rapini and karasumi. One diner who tried shirako with bread recalled how the bread complemented the shirako’s savoury flavour. A lunchtime review also mentions bite-sized bread served alongside the dishes, tying the meal together.

If choosing proves difficult, there’s an omakase course. The menu lists a progression of appetisers, soup, a main course, dessert, and coffee or tea, as well as a course that requires a reservation. One account of dinner describes a meal that began with scallops and avocado, followed by chilled soup, appetisers, a meat dish and dessert. The offerings change over time, so check what’s available on the day. Wines include sparkling, white, rosé and red, giving you options to match with the food. A course lets the kitchen set the pace, while à la carte is a good fit for a leisurely evening focused on bread and wine. For dessert, there’s lemon tart and crème d’anjou with seasonal fruit. One reviewer also describes taking bread home and enjoying it with a meal.